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Sunday, January 10, 2016

HARBOURVIEW HOTEL MACAU

Last September, my husband had to represent Team Mushu for Macau's 2015 World Tourism Day Dragon Boat Cup alongside a strong group of rowers and my daughter and I got to cheer for them on that day. They have won as Champions which is another addition to TEAM MUSHU's collection of gold medals.


On the other hand, I got to experience another hotel in Macau called, Harbourview as we spent a night there before the big day of races came.

The HARBOURVIEW HOTEL in Macau is patterned after the 18th century Prague with an exquisite European style both inside and out. Completed with 389 comfortable guest rooms and 55 spacious suite rooms, it stood up impressing a lot of tourists visiting the peninsula. Combining sophisticated charm with modern elegance, I highly recommend Harbourview Hotel to you.


Starting from HK$1,030, you can book a room here and if you're lucky, occasional promotions are offered as low as HK$791.20 every now and then depending on whether it's peak season. I got mine with a breakfast deal since I wanted to maximise my experience of this lovely hotel.



My daughter and I arrived around 4 in the afternoon. And she appreciated the huge window by looking over the harbour. This design gave the room bright lighting that elevated our moods in an instant even though it was a bit cloudy. We were both starving so we took time in looking around the free amenities that go with the room, room service and the fridge. I had set her up with a movie and she was so happy. The sheets were clean. The comfort the mattress and the pillows bring were just right. ( Meaning, it wasn't too overwhelmingly soft. I hate it when you go on the bed and it requires effort from you just to sit up. ) Everything is just neat and tidy following a minimalist approach perhaps to give the guests a serene stay. Their hotel might be a little extravagant with its interior but the rooms were decorated minimally.

The amenities got the usual coffee. The fridge also got the usual stuff. Nothing special. But the room service menu was truly attractive and browsing over it made me think of my husband since that's his favourite. I told myself, we'll just eat the snack we brought and then wait for Hogan to come so that we could experience the room service altogether. Anyway, the time was a little bit in between having a snack and having dinner. We chose to eat light.

What I'm amazed about is their bathroom. It was not that big but I love the interior. Great looking tub (though it needs an anti-slip - for the record, that's not an opinion. It comes with a  hope that the management of Harbourview Hotel, Macau would address this issue as it concerns the safety of the people. I had a minor accident with it. Thank God I wasn't actually carrying my baby when I slipped.)


The toiletries were branded (L'Occitane), complete with a pair of toothbrushes, a wooden comb and many more, all for you to use and/or take home.


There's a separate shower if that's just what you want and as you can see on the right, the bathroom is separated by a glass see through window that could be beneficial to couples on a honeymoon. Whichever you choose between the two will surely give you a luxurious time in this sanctuary.

The closet is filled with 2 bathrobes, 2 pairs of adult slippers and a pair for a child. A user friendly safe is ready for you to use to secure your cash, your passports, jewelries and anything else personal to you that may need such service.






The floor was slippery for
kids to walk on without
adult supervision.
For old people, caution is advised.
While waiting for my husband to come from work, my daughter and I tried the indoor pool and as grand as it may seem, the jacuzzi for a kid was a little too much. But that's just what they have for her. I tried to lure her but she was uneasy. After a while, I just ordered something to munch on to lure her to stay a while since I know she's just feeling a little home sick.

So, we had ordered buffalo wings, watermelon shake for my baby and orange juice for me. It was pretty worth the price. As it sat on the wooden plate, presentation was impressive, the salad added colour to the dish and the wings were mouthwatering.

My daughter seemed thirsty as she grabbed the watermelon shake right away. It was pretty quiet for there was just a family at the other separate pool and a couple at the other. There were three so it was pretty quiet. The lap pool was too chilly. We dipped but I felt myself hyperventilating to cope up with the biting cold.

As we bid goodbye to the pool, we explored the neighbouring halls and the pool extended to another gateway to fitness passing a lounging area for reading and relaxing.
Notice the separate jacuzzis behind us.
There is one for toddlers, one for school-aged
and the last one is for adults.


The gym is equipped with high tech facilities and there's enough room for doing gym ball exercises but it doesn't include a room for doing yoga, dance classes and other calisthenics. Maybe there is but I wasn't able to explore more. Needless to say, Harbourview Hotel Macau offers a great array of weights to cater guests' need for holistic wellness.



The buffalo wings we ordered with a side salad,
dressed with vinaigrette.
As soon as we reached to the room, we washed up and then I had availed a couple of movies for Brave to be kept entertained. As soon as she dozed off, her dad reached the room and was eager to put on the Rugby match where Samoa was in. She got up from that sleep alright because of excitement. I was, too, because of the long awaited room service.


We got pasta, salad, fish and chips and a noodle soup for our late dinner:



It took time for my baby to settle down that night though for whatever reason we couldn't fathom. Randomly, I mentioned to our friend how annoyed I was with our window because it could give the room a much better airflow if the window could be opened. And then this friend of mine had a funny assumption. He connected my daughter's discomfort to probably an incident that Harbourview Hotel Macau maybe preventing from happening "again". You see, many gamblers in Macau lose huge amounts of money that maybe they had closed the window "permanently" to stop suicidal tendencies. That being said, I may sound delusional. But knowing that babies are pure and innocent, my baby's discomfort might have been related to some suicide committed in the room. But, no paranormal activity was observed. It just maybe has to do something with the room's vibe.

For HK$1,500/night booking with breakfast, I felt satisfied. It was worth it because of the wide array of food their breakfast buffet offered. But I wouldn't advice this if you are left to deal with your 1 year old kid. She was cranky because of not having enough sleep the night before so, she didn't want to eat anything. Breakfast buffet usually starts as early as 7am to 10am. Babies could sleep up until 10am. Since my husband's race started as early as 9:50am, I was left with her mood swings. We had to get up early and so, it was a little bit hard to enjoy breakfast.

Behind us was a noodle counter.
You choose the vegetables, the meatballs
to go with your preferred type of noodles.
Sort of Chinese style.



I love croissants!

Good to go.
I had a plate good enough for a jam packed morning and that good to go yogurt and banana was beneficial for my daughter, Brave, as soon as her hunger kicked in when we reached the pier where the race was happening.

When we reached the pier, I felt the surge of energy got channelled to Brave. She had a great time, and she had fun with everybody. Team Mushu was lining up for their final heat so we were just on time. The place was less than HK$20.00 far from Harbourview Hotel Macau as per cab ride.

Later that noon, after Team Mushu's victory, one of the event coordinators escorted the team to a lunch buffet at Harbourview Hotel Macau.

The hotel got built up in me again as I saw the tables explosive of food, drinks and desserts. I wasn't able to finish my food that morning like I said so I thought to myself this is the right time to indulge. So many people were keeping Brave company, my husband was with me and I'm sure Brave's yogurt and banana meal was pretty used up. With all the dancing and cheering we did, every dish looked so inviting!








This is just a few of the choices I was able to take a shot of. I was actually confused of which I wanted to eat because there's truly a lot. I love their choices of juice too because there was watermelon, orange, mango, guava and pineapple. There were a lot of choices for tea, you can brew your own coffee in the coffee machine. Capuccino, espresso, black and regular coffee. Name it, you got it. Tea also filled the beverage table as well as sodas in can ready for pick up and again, a take home or two can be done. Liquor can be ordered from the waiters as for additional information as proof of its aim to cater to guests' preferences.


The Harbourview Hotel Macau costs around HK$999.00 up per night. I give it a 3.5 stars out of 5 because for some reason, my daughter had a hard time sleeping overnight. For the many times I have checked in with my family with other hotels, she didn't have a problem sleeping unlike here. I also don't like how complicated their bath tub was too. It looked good but oddly shaped reaching a point that it wasn't comfortable at all.

The room surely looked luxurious but we can't even enjoy the veranda. When I asked my friend about it, he oddly said, "Maybe, you can actually open the windows before but not anymore because maybe there was somebody who stayed here before and had lost in gambling and jumped off the balcony." I jokingly agreed but deep inside, I thought he might be right. I'm not superstitious but kids do have a strong 6th sense which they can't express actually. And with money, nothing is impossible. If it was too great of an amount to lose, insanity could creep in and push people to their limits.

That was just my personal experience. And there's no proof on that story.

Transportation transfers maybe arranged but I had to ride the cab to reach the hotel. They don't have an available free coach to get you from the pier so that's already a hassle actually considering I was alone in checking in with my baby and a stroller.

So, if you're eyeing this hotel, here is a review that may help you one way or another. Please do share to anybody who's asking for some details about it too. Enjoy your getaway!

Related posts:
1. GRAND COLOANE RESORT - Another hotel in Macau that is far from its busyness and is more located on the quiet side of Macau.

2. FABULOUS FIND THIS NOVEMBER - Read as to which hotel got a free shuttle transfer from the Macau Ferry Pier!

3. HOW TO SAVE HK$5,000 IN 52 WEEKS - Wanting to have an additional spending money for travel? Make it happen starting this January!




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